Board Meeting - January 12th, 2026

001This January 12th meeting of the board of Berles board of trustees for the Berles Independent School District is now called to order at 5:30 p.m. This meeting was duly posted according to legal requirements and a quorum is present. We welcome employees and guests to our meeting. Ashley, do we have any cards? All right. The board of trustees of the Burlesen Independent School District will now adjourn into close session at 5:30 for the purpose of considering consideration of matters for which closed sessions are authorized by title 5 chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code 071-084 whereupon the superintendent at the request of the president of the board of trustees will present for the board's consideration or discussion the following matters. Consider teacher administrator employment or other appropriate personnel matters. Deliberate and negotiated contract for a prospective

002gift or donation. Deliberate the use of security personnel devices and/or audits, including the intruder detection audit. Deliberate a matter regarding a student or student discipline. Deliberation regarding real property or consultation with attorney. Now we will go into close session. The board of trustees of the Berles Independent School District will reconvene to open session at 6:50 p.m. We have one item to take care of from the closed session. I recommend that the board of trustees grant the board president the authority to approve new hires between now and the next regular meeting in February. The board will consider ratifying those hires at the next meeting. I need a motion. Mike second Ryan. All in favor? See none opposed. The motion passes. Now if you'll stand with me, we'll recite the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the

003flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all the flaggis. Uh, next I need a motion that the board of trustees adopt the order of items for the January 12th, 2026 agenda as presented. Pat. Second. Dallas. All in favor, raise your right hand. Seeing none opposed. Motion passes. And now it's time for special recognitions with Dr. Hill. Tonight is our night to be able to say thank you to each of you for the work that you do for BISD. So, our principles have put together a graph a photo of their campus that they've selected and they want to share a note of thanks with you and I'm going to begin by inviting Principal Leak to the podium. >> Good evening,

004Dr. Gmerson, board of trustees. Um, so I get to get to set the stage, I guess. So, uh, uh, in this image of BHS students conducting a flame test to identify metal ions and a chemical compound. I know Dr. Jmerson knew that. Um, but beyond the science that captures curiosity, confidence, and learning and action, moments like this don't happen by chance. They are made possible through your continued commitment to student learning and and allowing all of us principles to create these experiences. Your support empowers our students to explore, ask questions, and discover their potential every day. On behalf of the students and staff of Burlesson High School, thank you for investing in the type of learning that ignites curiosity and prepares students for the future. But thank you. Thank for everything you do. Good evening.

005Thank you to our school board and Dr. Jimmerston for your support of the academy at Nola Dunn. This picture of Leo, a student playing piano, represents just how the brain-based education is truly all about student centered creativity. Leo and others play piano each day as Olympians enter our building. This tradition builds a sense of strong community as many students of all ages gather around to listen. Thank you for your partnership and support in all that we do, your regular visibility in our schools, attending our campus improvement committees, and always doing what's best for our students, staff, and community. You are truly appreciated. >> Um, I just want to say thank you to our school board and Dr. Jimmerson for your continued support of Mound Elementary. This picture represents what your commitment makes possible. Engaged students,

006hands-on learning, and joyful curiosity happening every day in our classrooms. It captures our belief that when students are given meaningful opportunities and strong support, they grow as confident learners and leaders. We are grateful for your partnership in helping our Mustangs thrive. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude for our new beautiful gym and the updates to the front of the school. Each day we are blessed to hear from our stakeholders on how thankful they are and how much they appreciate these improvements. The positive impact of these changes is felt throughout our school community. Good evening, Dr. Jimmerson and board of trustees. I want to personally thank you for the incredible support that you give us principles and our campuses so that we can in turn give that to our teachers and put smiles

007like this on students faces. This kiddo is engaged in realworld connection after learning a unit of study of the human body. Our teachers have a high quality instructional materials, rigorous materials to teach, but they also get that autonomy to bring in creativity and re real world connection. And it's not by accident. We have incredible support. Thank you for that. >> Dr. Dr. Gmerson and school board of trustees. I just want you all to know that this is one of my most favorite school board meetings to attend. As an audience member, you don't know what we see, but as you look at the pictures and you're understanding the context of the students that you help serve, it's really wonderful to see that gleam and that joy that you have. This student is Zoe, and she is

008playing in the comedic spin-off of a Shakespeare play, Romeo and Julie. Yes, Romeo and Julie. And the two houses. Yes, the two houses. Julie is a part of the seventh grade house and they have a rivalry with the eighth grade house. And the beautiful thing is this is just another representation of the creativity of students that they have. They wrote this script based off of a tragedy, but with the autonomy of the teacher just like uh Miss Campbell just mentioned that it is just a joy and we really appreciate how much y'all pour into our students and even us as administrators as well. I think that y'all do a lot of things behind the scenes that we are not aware of and I want to sincerely tell y'all thank you. >> Okay. Well, I brought

009a guest with me. So, um on behalf of Norwood, I want to share how honored we are uh to serve both as principal and counselor. Um we are grateful for the opportunity to do so and also for um the leadership of Dr. Gmerson and the board members and for your continued support. The photo that you see is of Penelopey the bunny, our unofficial official mascot that uh roams the hallways and libraries and everywhere from time to time. >> Tell me that [laughter] >> not unattended. >> We have no chickens. We have no chickens. We did get a fish recently. Swim Shady. Um so if you come >> swim shady. Yeah. So, if you want to come see our fish, um [laughter] >> um but um you know, Penelopey represents our focus on being good stewards

010of the environment, learning, and our overall health and well-being. So, with that being said, Miss Peters is with me tonight. I wanted to take this opportunity to not only celebrate um her impactful contributions um through our Viking food market, but highlight uh the latest endeavor, which is made possible through your support and your leadership as the board. So, Miss Peters, >> yeah, thanks for letting me be here tonight. So, I want to briefly share an exciting partnership that we've developed between our Viking Market Food Pantry and TCU's student nursing interns. As part of their final capstone project, these nursing students will provide psychoeducational presentations to our families and community members that shop our market and focusing on wellness and healthy living and eating. Uh what makes this partnership especially meaningful is that students are designing

011practical realistic meals with actual ingredients available in our pantry. They're creating options for families not only that have working kitchens. Um but what we've learned also is we have many families that face housing insecurities and instability that do not have working kitchens. Um so it's really neat that they're providing opportunities for both families. This collaboration directly supports student and family wellness, removes barriers to healthy living, and strengthens our connection to higher education. We're proud of this innovative community- centered approach that truly meets our families where they are. So, thank you for your support. Appreciate it. >> Hello everyone. Dr. Jimmerson, members of the board, thank you for having us today. At first glance, I thought this was a picture of the amazing staff at the convocation that was pretty much Grammy worthy if you ask

012me. Um I know I know everybody all the other principles remember it. Okay. Um but then I realized that it's even better. This picture is from our annual Hispanic Heritage Month. In this picture, you see students who are confident, engaged, and proud of where they come from. Taylor is a place that celebrates diversity, and you can see that in this picture. We continue to raise the bar and a lot of that is because of your help and your support. Um we are grateful for the opportunities that you help or that you give us um so that we our students can learn, grow and shine. >> I will not be good evening um Dr. Jimson, board of trustees. I want to re reiterate what my colleagues have said. We are so grateful for you all and

013thankful that you allow us to do what we love and serve our community and do what's best for for kids. I always know that if I need something, I can reach out. I have somewhere to go. This is my my third district and I see how wonderful it is to be here. So, we do appreciate everything you do. So, this photo that you see in front of you is um one of our CTE projects. Um we prepare students. Yes, sir. I knew you'd see that. I knew you'd see that right off. We prepare students for an accelerated transition into the work for work workforce, college, or even the military. Um, this photo is a photo of our recent bake sales. Um, where the students uh were actually putting those very things in mission came to

014action. Um, the crossroads bake sale was a resounding success transforming a simple fundraiser into a comprehensive hands-on learning experience. Um from initial recipe research and cost analysis to the final sale, students de uh demonstrated impressive initiative managing their time effectively and collaborating across special uh specialized roles in baking. So it was a business they started from beginning to end. Uh it was supervised by uh our Miss Mafy who is a longtime teacher there and and loves students and pours a lot into them. Um, beyond selling treats, the project fostered essential life skills and communication, problem solving and teamwork, leaving students with a deep sense of pride and motivation to begin their planning of their next event, whether it's on campus or it's actually in the workforce. So, uh, we do appreciate you all for allowing

015us to think outside the box and do the fun things for our students. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you for having us tonight. We're really excited to um come this evening to talk to you and and thank you for all that you do for us on a daily basis. I know that so many times you don't get thanked and we know that you deserve all the appreciation and more. So in this particular picture, this shows a student engaged in learning during an operation, an order of operation hospital activity. Some of my colleagues said, "The students ready to go to surgery." Um, as part of the fifth grade Blue Bonnet curriculum, students applied their understanding of order of operations by solving problems, and then looking at their answers to analyze the actual medical notes, determine what

016tools were necessary, and what uh patient procedures were needed next. Through these hands-on experiences, students uh thought critically. They were able to problem solve and show collaboration. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for supporting our stribbling stars. We appreciate it. [clears throat] >> I'll go, guys. I'll go. >> I got it. My apologies, Dr. Gmerson. Uh, members of the school board, thank you for giving us the opportunity to express our appreciation. Um, this a picture of one of our color guard students, Tegan. Um, I tried to I was thinking about attempting this maneuver. Um, I did not want to be the first principal patient of the clinic next door trying to navigate my way through uh the concussion protocol. So, um, I let them do their thing. They're very talented um individuals, but it

017reminds me of the the competitive nature of our students as they gear up for competition season. Uh and just the vast opportunities that we have for students at at Ker Middle School. And so I recently got to attend the Midwest Clinic to see our honors band compete in Chicago. Um our media and yearbook students recently attended um a professional learning experience at Charlton State University. Our cheerleaders finished second place at the NCA State of Texas regionals and are preparing for nationals. Our cur Kur Sapphires are gearing up for their upcoming crowd-pleasers competition. Um our BISD archery team who is uh led by one of our very own um just placed first in their competition this past weekend. Our 4 and FFA students had tremendous success at the recent livestock show. and our choir athletic programs,

018all our fine arts, our student council, and make a difference club have tremendous opportunities to make a difference in our community. And all of these opportunities wouldn't be uh possible without your unwavering support. So, we thank you for that. Dr. Jimmerson board members. Um there's a little backstory to this picture. Uh this is taking taken from the back to school video from this year. And so I had the the the envious task of going and finding students to take part in this video. And when I asked the students if they would like to be a part of you thought they just punched their ticket to Hollywood from, you know, American Idol or something, especially when they found out they were going to be backing uh the backing band for Axel Gimmerson. And so that that

019made it even more worthwhile. [laughter] >> Axelmer. >> Axel Jimmerson. He had the moves. [laughter] >> Do you know where you are? >> Is this on video? Sorry. Um, but I feel like this picture, um, it doesn't just represent our campus. I think I feel like this is a great representation of the district in general because um I got to say having been in the district for eight years now, one of the reasons that I wanted to come work in Berles was because I watched some of the back to school videos and um there are a lot of high achieving districts around us, but there aren't a lot of high achieving districts that also encourage creativity and fun in education. And to me, that's a huge part of of education, especially with the students. And

020so those videos make all the difference. That that convinced me to want to come work here because I thought if man, if the superintendent can get up and do that, then heck yeah, that's that's where I want to be. [laughter] >> Yeah, I get that a lot. >> But it's the culture that you have cultivated here. Uh the the climate of fun on campuses and making making learning fun. And that's such an important thing. It's not just about academics. It's about making school fun for kids. And if kids want to go to school, they're going to learn. And so that is a direct result of the the support that you give to the campuses. And it's very much appreciated. And I just want to say thank you, >> Dr. Jimmerson, schoolboard members, various members that

021are up there as well. Um, we know there's a lot of things that goes on that people do see and things that people don't see that y'all do daily. And we know it's tough and we know there's a lot that goes into it, a lot of hard decisions that you'll have to make about our district. And so, thank you for putting the time into that to make sure that we are provided for in the way so that we can make good decisions for our staff, for our community, for our kids. So, thank you for your unwavering support that you have for us. Uh, in this photo, it looks very simple. Uh, but I challenge you to look a little bit deeper. Uh, this young man is in an art class for Miss Godfrey. And so,

022again, originally, you see a student who's working, but I tend to think about what is the teacher providing the student. So, Miss Goffrey, I'll tell you, she runs three different art clubs for Hike. She has sculpture, she has 3D printing, and she has thread and needle. That's just one staff member providing different things outside of the room for kids. And we are about to continue to look into different various ways we can build clubs within Hike. Um we are just starting towards the end of this month a yoga, which I know you might be a fan of, um a yoga and a growmovement um club. And we actually had parents who were asking if they could come join it. And who were like, "No, no, no. You guys have to wrap her in first. You

023guys have to wrap her in first. Um but we just know there's so many um different ways we're able to provide for students and different opportunities caring about the student as a whole, not just about what they're getting during that instructional time, but them truly as human beings and how they're developing into people and what they're going to do when they get into middle school and when they get into high school. Uh so from Hike, we just want to say thank you for the the consistent support and providing us with the resources to do those fun things and other awesome creative ideas that we can do for our students. Thank you. >> Hello, Dr. Jefferson, board of trustees. Um thank you for letting us be here. When I started here 22 years ago, I don't

024remember all this fun and I also didn't need glasses. Um, so, um, but really and truly, I don't know how many of y'all have been, um, involved. I know Miss Pat has been involved a long time, um, with not only the board, but also in Berles ICT, but I do think this board and Dr. Jimmerson has really created um, not only a collabor collaborative um, amongst a collaboration amongst colleagues, but also just amongst schools and we know that it needs to be relevant and fun. So, our picture is um, we did collaborate with Centennial. I don't know that Dean even knows this, but we did collaborate with them. We had an ELA um unit that was about the human body and human cells. And so, one of my teachers um reached out to some teachers

025at Centennial and they were glad to share the resources that they had there. So, we do appreciate this captures a student that's deeply engaged in in observing human body cells through a microscope, turning abstract science vocabulary into real meaningful experiences. Opportunities like this are possible because our teachers are empowered to design interactive lessons and work together across classrooms and grade levels. We are grateful for the environment you have created, one that values curiosity, collaboration, and authentic learning for every student. Um, I do remember when Dr. Jimmerson came, I had already moved out of the classroom into administration, but one of his things was >> I was babysitting. Yes. Um, no, but um, I would do it all over again. Um but um I know that he wanted us to be sure that we make learning

026relevant and engaging and I think as you can see that all of the schools have done a great job at that and it is because of you and your willingness to do the work behind the scenes like everybody said to give us this opportunity. So thank you. >> Good evening Dr. Gmerson and the board. I'm I'm actually excited to be here because today is actually my first day back because I've had the flu all the last Oh my gosh. Seven day. No, I am not. I am feverree. I am feverree. >> Oh my gosh. No, I'm good. I'm good. >> I'm very well. I know. I came in all bubbly this morning to school. I'm like, "Hey, I haven't I haven't seen anybody since December the 18th." So, yeah. Um, this little girl in this

027picture is actually my neighbor across the street from me and she always comes running across the street and she's like, "Hey, Miss Allen." So, I love that this picture um was chosen for clink scale. It captures learning in action. Uh during library time, our students are able to explore STEM bins of building and collaborating and discovering how to solve real world problems. Um you can see curiosity, teamwork, and confidence growing in every moment. And these experience just don't happen by chance. They happen because of your vision and your support. And so we just thank you from the bottom of our hearts because the future starts with us. And you know, we're the beginning of elementary. And so thank you for everything that you do. >> Good evening board. We're grateful. It's true. This photo shows

028what happens when you say, "We believe in you." You funded our glow up right here at Cinten, turning dreams into skills, a true win-win. You trusted our teens with scissors and style, and somehow it worked. Just look at those smiles. From fresh cuts to futures, you opened the door, serving students and community, and so much more. So, from combs to careers, we've brought futures in sight. Thank you, school board, for investing in what's right. Good evening, uh, Dr. Gmerson, board of trustees. We want to say thank you for your support of Steam Middle School and this image here that we have young lady with a camera looking into the world and the possibilities and there's so many possibilities that that exist and that mindset is showing up every day in our classrooms through innovation through

029strong academic growth and engaged learners because of your leadership and your belief in that system and protecting that model. We thank you so much. >> Good evening. What you see here is one of our middle school students who has created an image and is using a program to animate it so it will move on his screen. So just one of the many examples of the innovation that's going on on campuses across the district. On behalf of the Game Development Design School, I want to thank you for your commitment to our students. Through my many years in the district and now with a new perspective at GDDS, I have seen how your commitment to innovation helps our students connect their passions to their future plans. Thank you for providing the resources that allow our innovators to

030thrive and thank you for your tireless dedication to every student in Berles ISD. Happy board appreciation month. So, last year I went first and this year I go last. So, I don't know what that means, but [laughter] I want to start by saying that I'm standing in front of all of you with a heart of gratitude and thankfulness. Dr. Jimmerson, thank you so much for leading by example and everything that you do, not only for us as administrators, but also for our teachers and our students and our families as well. Being on the school board, I know, is a very thankless job. So, thank you guys so much too for everything that you give to us. Everything that this picture represents is is with the word opportunity. Burlesen Collegiate High School is all about opportunity

031for so many of our students. These four Panthers, a few of which are first generation college students, have an opportunity given to them because of our district giving them that opportunity to get one of three associates degrees. first an associates of arts and liberal arts or an associates of liberal arts in pre- n nursing which we will have our first graduates this year and finally an associates of arts in teaching which we will have our first graduates in May of 2028. But thank you so much guys for giving them an opportunity not only to get their associates but also to be at the beautiful Berles Higher Education Center which opened up in February 2023. gorgeous campus for our kids to feel like they have an opportunity to do something that they may not have had

032without what you have given them. So, thank you guys so much. >> We do. Thank you so much all of you principles and likewise we know the sacrifices you make every day the work you put in every day blood sweat and tears that you put in and we appreciate you as well. So thank you so much for that beautiful presentation that that really connects us to your campuses. So thank you. Okay, any other comments from board members? Well, y'all just I tell you, when we when I first got on the board and we would get the cookies and candy and all that, don't get me wrong, I'm plump. I like that kind of stuff. But I'm telling you, when when y'all started doing these and coming up and talking to us, I'm really look forward

033to to to um board appreciation because you ju you're just awesome people and you're doing wonderful things. Thank you so much for what you do. Well, Brenda Hard act follow. We will have Brenda Mai come and auditors from Weaver and Tidwell to consider the annual comprehensive financial audit. >> From appreciation to audit, here we go. [laughter] Are you moving? Well, what a tough act to follow, but I'm glad we're bringing good news. So, that'll be it'll be a good start for us. Um, Brenda and I were talking earlier. You know, I used to attend a lot of January board meetings, but we always go to November now since you're a 6:30 year in. So, um, I guess we're we're kind of excited to be here and hear this board appreciation. So, it's good to be

034here. Um we are delayed a bit this year because as you know we perform not only your financial statement audit but also a single audit over your federal awards and um we do that based on the federal compliance supplement that the OM puts out every year and this year that did not come out until almost December and so we as your independent auditors were not allowed to issue our report until that came out and we could comply with the requirements that are included in it. So, we get to be here in January this year. Um, my name is Jackie Gonzalez. This is Joe Bana. Um, she is the senior manager on the engagement and we are with Weaver. As you know, we've served as your auditors for many years. Um, but wanted to reintroduce us

035if you forgot. Um, but we continue to grow and continue to serve governments as one of our largest industry practices within the firm. We do over 300 um governments, but over 50 of those are school districts here in the state of Texas. So, Texas remains our core um at the government practice that we have here at Weaver. As I mentioned, I'm Jackie. I serve as your engagement partner. We won't go over how many years I've been doing this. >> How many years? >> A long, long time. Um but in addition to myself and Joe Bono, we also had others serving to help us. Um I do have a quality control partner um Jennifer Ripka who reviews the audit and everything that we do with an independent set of eyes before we issue our report. We

036also have Elisa Gilbertson who uh participates with us in our data analytics. So allows us to turn all the vast amount of information that you have here at the district into a usable format so that we can analyze it. A little bit about our audit process. So um we do think of it as a year round process. I know that sounds terrible to anybody that's not involved in this process, but really just allows us to stay connected with the district with Brenda and her team um so that we can, you know, we're auditing a year behind um and you're in the current year thinking about future years and so being connected throughout the year allows us to kind of bridge all those gaps. Um we come out for our pre-filled work or a little bit

037of interim fieldwork in August, come back in September for our final fieldwork. Um, we presented to the audit committee the other day on January 8th, have issued our final report to present to you today and then we will kind of start that process all over again. We do perform our audit in accordance to generally accepted auditing standards as well as generally accepted government auditing standards. As I mentioned previously, we also perform that single audit in accordance with the uniform guidance. Um, we also perform compliance tests with the public funds investment act as well as those compliance requirements required by TEA. Here's a snapshot of the results of your financial statement audit. We have issued an unmodified opinion over your financial statements, which is the highest level of assurance that we, as your independent auditors, can

038provide, or a clean opinion. Um, you have had no material weaknesses, no significant deficiencies, and no matters of non-compliance related to your financial statements. So all in all, very clean financial statement audit. >> Say that one more time. >> I was waiting. That's why I paused. A clean financial statement audit. So >> Clean audit. No um material weaknesses, significant deficiencies or compliance issues identified. Um as I mentioned that single audit we performed over the special education cluster. Um again issuing an unmodified or clean opinion over compliance. you do qualify as a low-risk audit again for many years in a row and this means you cannot have had a material weakness or any kind of compliance finding in at least the previous two years. We also had no material weaknesses over compliance, no significant deficiencies and

039no uh compliance findings over the special education cluster. So we do perform a risk based audit and so when we do that we step back and look if something could go wrong where would that go wrong? where do you have a lot of transactions going through the district and we perform tests in response to those potential risks. So here are a few that we perform specifically over payroll. We take all of that information um review the payroll register and employee listing to ensure that there are no erroneous payments or duplicate employees and we had no errors um in that testing. We also look at your cash dispersements throughout the year. We're looking for gaps in sequence, duplicate payments to vendors or anything that looks improper or outside of school district business. We had no exceptions

040to that testing. We also reviewed non-payroll payments to various members of management to include to ensure that those payments were approved and necessary for district purposes and had no exceptions to that testing. We also performed procurement card analysis to review approvals um for a selection of those payments that are processed throughout the year and had no exceptions to that testing. Related to the special education cluster, we do test many transactions throughout that process. We also step back and look at the composition of costs to make sure that aligns with the grant compliance requirements. We had no exceptions to that testing. We'll turn it over to Jovana for financial highlights. Okay, thank you Jackie. Hello everyone. Thank you for having us here. So the next few slides we'll just go over some highle financial information comparing

041um the data from year-over-year. Since the acter is written in a single year presentation, this gives a visual presentation on just some year-over-year comparisons. So looking expenditures by function within the general fund alone. You'll see that instruction is the largest piece of that pie. Um and so in prior year that was 57.3% and in current year 57.2%. This slide breaks out the top five functions of expenditures for all governmental funds. So this includes general fund, debt service fund, capital projects fund and non- major funds. And so again the largest expenditure group there being instruction um and then debt service fluctuates depending on the debt service activity for the year. Uh facilities and acquisitions this can um increase decrease depending on capital asset activity. So as those projects are winding down we would expect those to

042decrease. and then facilities maintenance and operations and the school leadership relatively consistent over the past five years. This slide breaks out the um ex revenue by sources in the within the general fund. So the largest piece being state uh program revenue u 58% in the current year and 59% in the prior year. Excuse me, I have allergies. So um and then the next uh largest group was total local native intermediate sources [clears throat] 41% in the prior year and 42% in the in the current year. This breaks out revenue sources by all governmental funds. So again not just general fund but um debt service fund, capital projects fund and non- major fund. And so you'll see that the largest group there is the to local and intermediate sources. Um in 2023 there was a peak

043slight decrease in the prior year and then increase in the current year. [clears throat] Excuse me. And then state program revenues has increased in the past two years. And federal programs is the the green bar that lowest bar there. And that has been relatively consistent in the past three years. Next we have um general the um sorry the governmental funds uh fund balances broken out between general fund debt service fund capital projects fund and other funds. The largest being the general fund at 37.5 million in the current year and same as last year and the next one being excuse me [clears throat] debt service fund 30 million in the prior year and 19.6 in the current year. And then this slide breaks out the same information but just by percentages. Again, the largest being the

044general fund, 46% in the current year and 41% in the prior year. This slide breaks out the general fund budget with the adopted budget, amended budget, and actual. And you'll see that the general fund revenue was within 74% of the amended budget and the general fund expenditures was within 1.38% of the amended budget. And this slide last slide breaks out some trends that we'd like to point out. As you'll see the past 10 years, the total taxable assessed value has increased over the past 10 years. your average daily attendance um took a dip with from 2020 to 2022 and has stabilized since then and the population has steadily increased over the past 10 years and with that up for questions happy to take any questions that you may have but um congratulations on another successful

045audit. Um thank you to Brenda and everything that you do day in and day out. This is not an easy task to continue to have clean audits year after year. Um, and so we we greatly appreciate the ability to service your auditors. >> Thank you. Thank you all very much. We appreciate it. We appreciate the results very much. >> Brenda, appreciate you and your team working so diligently to make sure that uh we have these great audits every year. And I appreciate all of you out there. I know she's a pain to work with sometimes. Believe me, I work with her every day. But financially, we're sharp. We do good things and we have clean audits. And so I appreciate the fact that we all work together even though she's a pain sometimes. But we

046appreciate what you do to make sure that we are doing and we are maintaining and we are actually in the eyes of our taxpayers that we show them we are treating the money as we should. So thank you for that. Okay. So now I'm going to need a motion that the board of trustees approve the annual comprehensive financial audit ending June 30th, 2025 is presented by Weaver and Tidwell. Okay. Mike Dallas second. All in favor? See none opposed. Motion passes. Okay, we have uh several information items this evening and first up will be a safety, security, and intruder detection audit update with Mr. Steve Logan. >> Don't get your fingers, Steve. Look at that table. >> Well, good evening everyone. Um, I do have one brief safety security update to share with you guys. Before

047I do, I want to just thank you guys for your vision and leadership and thank you for making sure we have the resources that we need to do everything we can to keep our campuses safe. Um, just thank you guys for everything you do for the district and our community. Um, like I said, I do have one update. Um, we have not had any intruder detection audit since our last board meeting. Um but we do have an update on our SSO program and training. Um as we discussed at prior board meetings, anytime we have a staff development day, our SSOs like to get together as a group and do some training and so we had one of those days last Monday and I did some training with Fort Worth PD and also here in Burles

048and um Kurt Brandis said it went well. Time well spent. Um and that's all I have for tonight. Just some some training last Monday. Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you guys. Okay. Um, the next item is a school of choice update with Dr. April >> Sharelli and board of trustees. I'm very excited tonight to get to turn this presentation over to Joanne Campbell, principal of Frasier Elementary, as she tells you about something that her campus and her have been working on and we're presenting to you this evening. >> Thank you, Dr. Sharelli. Good evening, Dr. Jimmerson and board of trustees. I am pleased to present an opportunity for Frasier to become [clears throat] a school of choice. This will expand BISD's commitment to offering families meaningful education options designed around student strengths and their

049passions. Frasier Elementary is a has a long-standing presence in the community with more than 60 years embedded in student success. The campus is built on established traditions and a very strong sense of pride that continues to connect our students, our families, and our staff across the dis generations. I am proud to be a Frasier Bear, part of this wonderful community, and so are many of our former students who come back and share with us that Frasier was an important part of their educational foundation. The neighborhoods surrounding Frasier Elementary have long been home to generations of Frasier Bears. Over the years, we have welcomed and supported families as they progressed through our through elementary and our grades and then moved on to secondary and even graduation. And so this natural progression and shift in enrollment patterns

050have created um additional capacity at Frasier. So with this in mind, our campus began partnering with central administration last semester. Um we wanted to thoughtfully consider how could Frasier evolve in a way that honors our tradition and our sense of pride, but also position oursel as a um as a campus that's a school choice campus so we could attract additional students. In that process, we turned to our students. We considered what what do they love to do? Where do they spend their time? where are they most engaged during the school day? And it's through those observations that the opportunity became apparent. This evening, we propose the Academy of Sports and Wellness at Frasier Elementary as a school of choice. This opportunity will allow Frraasier to evolve into something new that honors our legacy and continues

051to expand BISC's portfolio of school choice options for our students and our families across the district. The Academy of Sports and Wellness at Frasier Elementary will integrate academic excellence, um, personal wellness, and physical health to support students success. Students are naturally drawn to movement and teamwork. As a choice campus, our goal will be to design learning around those three passion around those passions using a model that supports academic success while introducing the building blocks of athletics and lifelong activities. Through three pillars, academic excellence, personal wellness, and physical health, the Academy of Sports and Wellness will develop well-rounded students prepared for their next chapter right here at BISD. Let me tell you how. To begin, students will enjoy additional time in physical educationbased classrooms, learning fundamental physical activities that promote wellness and build future athletes and

052most importantly healthier teens. We know that the sports industry is more than the athletes on the field. So, our art program will have the opportunity to introduce photography, marketing, and audiovisisual. We will be deliberate in our music class to encourage natural movement and we'll explore ways that music can support health and wellness for our students. >> And great background some of these videos are >> love it. >> Just saying >> all about it. Yeah. Um throughout our campus, our daily lessons in the t in the regular classroom will be embedded with opportunities for physical response and movement. And we know that that's when the brain learns best. As a choice campus, family involvement and community partnerships centered around sports and wellness will allow us to further support student success. We've been in communication with Texas

053Health Resource, specifically the Texas Health Community Hope Division through THR and First T of Fort Worth to bring opportunities to our students including golf parade in elementary school. We will continue looking at ways to incorporate other partnerships as well um for family engagement. Some of our indas include um family 5ks and >> me [laughter] >> um sports clinics offered at our campus um partnership partnership partnering with um BISD athletics. This is just the beginning of our ideas. So tonight we come to you to present Frasier Elementary, BISD's first ever Academy of Sports and Wellness. We are all very excited to share this with you and look forward to continuing the work of bringing this um to BISD. >> Any questions? >> [laughter] >> a much fitter version. >> He is rather buff. Rather buff >>

054for that physical movement piece. I love the academic um nod, the academic excellence pillar being represented with the lettering and his sweaters. sure cute, but um he's also, you know, he's a little bit vintage. So, he really holds true to the fact that we have this rich history at in Berles and none of that wants to be negated. We want to carry that with us, but continue to evolve. >> Did you bring guests here with you this evening? >> I was just about to say I wanted to thank you all for listening to me and to my staff, some of whom have come to support this. stand up. Don't look around. Just do it. >> They have been nothing but wonderful and supportive to come out today. [applause] Um I also have a few more

055thank yous if I could um thank central administration. So many people have thought partnered with me throughout this um journey es especially Dr. Sharelli and Mr. Ozie, who have been incredibly supportive and helped rein some of my ideas in too. Um um >> do that to me. [laughter] >> Thank goodness. Um of course my faculty, they they've been nothing but positive and supportive and enthusiastic. I just love the energy that you bring every day and the culture that we have on our campus to be a Frasier family. Um and to Mrs. Wigs, my AP, who has been just instrumental and really helped focus this vision. It's been amazing to to do this work and we're really excited. >> Well, I I I will say I I love the the presentation. We both know that it's

056because of recess time that this is how this has happened because my son comes home with nothing but stories of the the most legendary games of any kind of sport uh happened on Frasier's uh grass out there. Um and he always wins and the other guy cheated so I get it. Um, one I just wanted to say obviously I spend more time on Frasier's campus than any other campus because my kids go there and um I I just everyone has said look at all this stuff that we that we do that's behind the scenes and nobody ever thanks you. Well that's the same thing for you because I see all the work that you do but I also know that's true at every other campus also. And so, um, I appreciate the work that you're

057doing to try to bring something to these kids to meet them where they're at because that's exactly what every other school of choice has done. And so, uh, as as a board, we try to support things that help you guys do that. And so, it's it's been cool to see, um, to see that put into action. So, thank you for all your hard work. Um, and I'm super excited to see how it goes. Thank you. >> Now, I presume that this will be unveiled at our school uh school choice night. >> Okay. But it's school choice night. You will be there and and repping that. And of course, I will invite everyone to school choice night because every one of our elementaryaries has some fantastic opportunities that they offer students. Every one of them. Whether

058it's a school of choice or not, by definition, every one of our campuses tries to bring the very best opportunities to our kids. So, I just want to be clear on that. I appreciate everyone in here and what they do for our kids. And I especially thank you guys because you put in a lot of extra effort to try to reimagine what you can do, especially as some of your students capacity. You're starting to grow the capacity. and uh you know what? Figure out how to draw more kids over. And I appreciate that. I think that's good stuff. And uh February 10th, 6:00 to 7:30 at Centennial High School. Invite your friends. Invite everyone to join us. We'll look forward to seeing you there and we'll look forward to seeing all of you all there.

059Great opportunity for our students and for our community. So, thank you'all for doing this. you guys. Okay. Board members should have received the consent agenda in their packets and I need a motion to approve tonight's agenda as presented after we hear from Mr. Tom Dyer. [laughter] >> Nice. >> Good job. >> Who's uh going to discuss uh update 126 from the Texas Association of School Boards. >> That's right. I got Hey. Hey, I got it. >> It's okay. Okay. Okay. >> You left me [laughter] hanging. You didn't know? >> No. No. >> No. I'm gonna say >> well he Tom I mean let's admit sometimes you are a little forgetful. >> That hurts. That hurts. >> No. >> I should I should have done that. Okay. This is the big one. This is the the

060one that has a lot going on for it. Update 126. To start with, I just want to I just want to cover four policies that don't have much going on. Two of them just have subtopic title changes. CJA CLLE. We're not going to cover those in the presentation. And then CQB adds the name of a new government agency, the Texas Cyber Command. That's it. And then GKA changes the word Texan to an individual, I guess, to be slightly broader. So those four policies are not here because they don't really do anything, but they are part of update 126. So, let's get into the rest of them in order. Be your local meetings policy. You have to have meetings outside typical work hours. Has to be noticed by 3 days instead of 72 hours and votes

061have to be recorded. Well, obviously are beed. Housekeeping on public comment dealing when large groups show up and they all want to comment on something that is similar. CJ contractors may not engage in DEI duties. That's the law. CQD uh is instructive. It tells us that we need to begin figuring out how employees can use AI software and Steve is already doing that. CSA, we have to designate private spaces and the cabinet members and I were working on that. Next CV, they changed the competitive purchasing threshold from 50,000 to 100,000. It's been 50,000 in all my career, so this is significant. That doesn't actually do a whole lot for the real business because there aren't very many construction contracts out there that are less than 100,000 these days. DBD, there's a new restriction for administrators

062who have secondary employment. They have to make sure that they get permission from you in certain circumstances. Uh we're looking at that. We'll make sure that we comply with that. DEEC, I love this one. They wrote a law for this. The daily rate shall be computed by dividing the employees annual salary by the number of days in the contract year. >> It is profound >> because there's another way to do the daily rate. >> So [laughter] very good. Anyway, DFPB, [laughter] a basis for non-renewal of employees includes engaging in DEI activities. DGBA. There's a lot of changes to DGBA. We'll get to the other complaint policies that are almost mirrored, but deadlines have been altered. They've been extended. Um, our responsibilities in responding have has been amended. We have to respond in certain ways and

063we have certain timelines to do all of that. So most of this is changes in timelines and the timelines are significant. DH u that is uh educators are prohibited from engaging in DEI again EP new requirements for course syllabi. Uh teachers have to give parents copies of their syllabi at the start of every semester. April and Bird tell me that's what we do already. EHBF 24 hours to report an incident instead of 48. They just changed the timeline there. EIA, uh, we have to make ourselves available to parents for two conferences a year. Now, these folks are going to laugh at that because they do a whole lot more than that, but that's what the new law says. Um, it really doesn't change anything we do. It's we we're way more robust than that. And

064academic dishonesty has now been rewritten to include students using AI in response to uh certain coursework. So, we'll we'll continue to plow through that, too. a parent portal. We have that uh Steve and and Ashley got that up and running. FEF new rules for students attending released time course. This is a new concept. And what this is is that when parents want their children to go to a private entity for a certain type of course, as long as we have written permission from the parent and they accept responsibility for it all, we can allow that. FAC clarifies that staff can administer non-prescription medication consistent with the law. And then FFB, we have to notify staff when a threat is made at that campus. FF, notify parents when an educator is engaged in misconduct. Again, that's

065I don't why they wrote that. We that was obvious to begin with. Reporting suspected abuse within 24 hours instead of 48, mirroring that other timeline change. FNG. This is just like the employee complaint policy. It's the same changes mostly to timelines and some to our obligations to respond a certain way. FO, we are we can use video evidence to support discipline or student misconduct. We've been doing that for years. Again, I'm not so sure how they got that far behind the wave on that, but anyway, they caught up. GF many changes to public complaint policy. This is the same. This is the public complaint like the parent complaint like the employee complaint. Mostly timeline changes. And that's it. See, that was interesting. >> Thank you, Tommy. Okay. [clears throat] Now, board members should have received

066the consent agenda in their packets, and I need a motion to approve tonight's consent agenda as presented. At I hear a second, Dallas. All in favor? See none opposed? Motion passes. All right. Next, we uh will open a public hearing for the executive summary of the 2024 2025 Texas Academic Performance Report. at 7:47 p.m. >> Hi, Dr. Jimmerson and members of the board of trustees. Um, happy board appreciation evening. Um, each year, uh, TEA requires us to hold a public hearing to discuss the district's annual report within 90 calendar days of receiving the Texas Academic Performance Report. We do this every year. These are things you've already seen, but they have us do it again. So, that's what we're here for this evening. Um, As is required by this public hearing, printed copies of the

067completed BISD annual report will be available at central administration and at campus front offices as well as electronically on our district website and on the TEA website. We always do that every year as part of that taper report and it goes up every single year. So again like we normally do just a reminder about the sections to the Texas that we include in this report are our taper report that is again remember we always give this in January but it's last year's report. So it is our taper report which has everything about star EOC scores in it. Um everything that we know about but that's there. Our apps financial standard report ends up always being about two years in a rears where we do that. Brenda already goes over this with you. um our district

068accreditation status, our campus performance objectives that you approved, our special education determination status, a report on violent or criminal incidences, student performance in secondary institutions, and then House Bill 3, early education, college, career, military readiness goals. Uh we include those every year and you have a big board packet that I gave you with all of these um all the way through many pages of it. Um, but I'm really today hitting the highlights of it because I'm sure not everybody wants the 90 pages that I that I had there. Um, first off, accreditation status. We are accredited. So, I'm happy to share that with you. Our campus um campus improvement plans are posted on the district's website and available for review. Our Texas Higher Education Board, we have had this problem the last several years. they

069don't present the information until after um we are already in the taper report. So we do not have that yet is they are still gathering that information on postsecary institutions. Um um our house bill 3 goals BISD continues to outperform state averages of students on grade level in grade three. That is what it looks at. It looks at grade three and um college career military readiness. And so I'm happy to report that we continue to outperform state averages in the subjects of reading and math. For that, we use our MAP testing. And so we're always pushing ourselves to look at how do our students perform based on a national level, more than just in the state of Texas. And our House Bill 3 goals are that we continue to outperform state averages of students meeting

070college, career, and military readiness as well. So those are the basic facts that we go over every year. Are there any questions in the public hearing? Now's the time for any questions from members of the audience. Quiet. They see these reports too. [laughter] >> Like they don't know. They know all of this. >> Yes, they do. Yes, they do. >> Okay, April. Thank you very much. And um we will close the public hearing for the executive summary of the 2024 2025 Texas academic performance report at 7:51 p.m. And now it's time for the monthly financials with Miss Brenda Mice. >> Good evening, Dr. Jimmerson and board Frasier Bear staff. So glad you guys are here to see this. I'm honored. Um, [laughter] uh, I am going to present the monthly financials, uh, for 2025. I'm

071so glad to have the audit behind us. So, we're in the current year, which is good news. Um, starting with the general fund, uh, revenues are at 46.7 million. You'll see that there's been an increase in the state program revenues, and that's because we're getting additional state funding as the percentages have changed. So, we're receiving funding a little bit earlier than we do. Our local taxes come in in December and January. Um but in November we received state funding. So that's been up. So we're up um about 8 million from last year. And then our expenditures are at 42.6. Food service. Uh revenues are up about 87,000 from last year at 3 million. And then expenditures are at 2.6 million. For debt service, uh you'll see revenues at 2.1 million. Uh last year we did

072have some state program revenues in November. I believe we were written them in December or January this year, so that'll increase. And then our expenditures are at 13.8 million. Um, we do have the fund balance to make this payment. So, it looks like our revenues are are less than our expenditures, but that's because we have the fund balance that we have as of June 30th to make our August payment for special revenue funds. You'll see we're at 29.8%. Uh we still leave last year's up here and then we start using the 2026 special revenues that we have and we use rollover. So we're uh monthly at 433,3.7 million for yearto date. Uh school for early learning because that's what we call it and we've updated our slide. Uh so which is child care uh revenues

073at 285,000 and expenditures at 324. Do you like it? >> Thank you. uh capital projects which is oil and gas uh revenues. We have um revenues at 318,000 and then expenditures at 2.3 million. The bulk of that the mound gym. Uh so our beginning fund balance was a little over 14 million. Um once you take in the expenditures and the revenue were at 12.1 million payments over 10,000. Uh the list is detailed in your packet. uh majority out of 199 um also food service some of our special revenues uh and then our work complaints if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer if you have any on the from your packet and then the tax report so the November collections were at 4.5 million uh 2.7 in M and 1.7 in INS a

074total of five a little over five million for the year and then the construction update you'll see that uh by division we've done it for the mound gym. Um, it's almost complete. Looks great. The front of the school looks really wonderful, too. So, um, >> Tyler said we're going to be in there next week. >> Yeah, I think that's what he said. >> No, not next week. >> No pressure. It looks like you could be. Um, but this is just broken out here. If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. And I believe that's it for me. No action item because we had the audit. So, we did that earlier. Thank you. Thanks, Brenda. And now we'll have an encore from Dr. Mr. Tom Dyer back to consider the call of the

075election for board members. >> It's um time to call the election. >> Yes, it is. [laughter] >> So, to ask. I need a motion from the board of trustees uh to call an election for places three and four of the board of trustees on May 2nd, 2026 through the election order within the city of Berles conducting all aspects of the general election. Approve all the pertinent information as outlined in the call of election and adopt all dates for compliance for the trustee election is outlined in the Texas statutes. Do I hear a motion? Mike. Thank you. a second. Dallas second. All in favor, raise your right hand. See none opposed. The motion carries. And with that, that brings us to the end uh of our meeting for tonight. And we will be adjourned at 7:55